Mt4 vs Ctrader
Written by BrokerNotes.co
MT4 vs cTrader
Today’s advanced technology has enabled the creation of many new trading platforms, allowing users to execute trades, evaluate markets, copy portfolios of more experienced traders, and much more. How popular a broker’s platform becomes will depend on its usability and functionality. Drawing comparisons between the trading features available on the platforms will allow a trader to evaluate which one is the most suitable for their needs.
This article will discuss the similarities and differences between the most popular Forex trading platform, MT4, and cTrader.
MetaTrader 4
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) is one of the most popular platforms available today and is considered the industry standard. Even MT5, the latest MetaTrader release, has thus far been unable to surpass the popularity of its predecessor, although there are indications that this is beginning to change. MT4 is primarily a Forex trading platform, developed by Metaquotes.
The platform can be downloaded and used directly, or more frequently, is licensed out to online brokers who then make it available to their customers. The software in its standard form is compatible with the Windows OS, however, some of the online brokers provide a customized version of MT4 which is capable of running on iOS systems. MT4 is often used for margin trading, allowing users to have leveraged exposure to Forex markets. It also caters to automatic order execution with computer programs written in the MQL4 language, which is proprietary to MT4. The platform provides a good degree of flexibility for the creation of indicators and use of tools, allowing the user experience to be tailored to the needs of the individual trader.
Benefits of MT4
- Multiple languages – Due to the widespread popularity of MT4, the platform is in many different countries. Hence the platform is now available in multiple languages, which makes it more accessible for non-English speakers.
- Charts – The platform provides excellent visualization of market data through different types of charts, which can be selected by traders based on their preferences.
- Expert Advisors – MT4 provides for robot-based, algorithmic trading through Expert Advisors (EAs). These tools can execute trades on behalf of users and can be configured based on user preferences. They can be very useful for either new traders who may need the help of computer programs to execute strategies, or traders with limited time available to devise their own strategies.
- Customizable – The MT4 platform lets brokers and users customise the platform to incorporate their required tools, markets and indicators.
- Communication – MT4 provides a direct chat link between the trader and broker, giving the trader access to convenient support.
cTrader
cTrader is a Forex trading platform developed by the award-winning fintech provider, Spotware Systems Ltd. The platform is specifically suited to be used with ECN (Electronic Communication Network) brokers and since its launch, it has been adopted by multiple ECN brokers including Australia-based market leader, Pepperstone. cTrader provides two key functionalities to users – 1) Order execution 2) Charting.
The user interface of the platform is attractive, neat, and easy to use. The screens are easy to navigate and intuitively designed which gives cTrader an edge over more complicated platforms.
(Caption) cTrader - STP Forex Trading Platform
Features of cTrader
- Charts – cTrader offers three chart modes – single-chart, multi-chart and free-chart which can be used to get different visualisations of market trends, based on user preferences.
- Market depth functionalities – cTrader provides a comprehensive assessment of market depth with three distinct views– Standard depth, Price depth, and VWAP depth. These features help the trader in closely tracking market liquidity for different price points, thereby helping them make more precise entries.
- cAlgo (cBots) – In line with MT4’s Expert Advisors, cTrader offers its algorithmic trading tool called cAlgo, which allows the trader to program robots for trade execution, creation of customer indicators, performing strategies and back testing. The tool works on C# language and .NET framework.
- Indicators and Timeframes – The platform offers a large array of indicators such as Moving averages, MACD, Bollinger etc. for analysis of market data. cTrader offers many timeframe options including the usual 1 / 5 / 15 minutes and more.
The best brokers for MetaTrader and cTrader in 2023
- IC Markets - 8.2/10 Overall
- FP Markets - 8.3/10 Overall
- Pepperstone - 8.4/10 Overall
- BlackBull Markets - 7.9/10 Overall
-
FXPrimus
- 6.9/10 Overall
- FxPro - 8.1/10 Overall
- TopFX - 6.7/10 Overall
- MultiBank - 7.5/10 Overall
Overall Rating
Minimum Deposit
Trust Score
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.62 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.62 |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes |
| Year Founded | 2007 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No |
| Bank | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 |
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes |
| Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDs | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 3583 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 61 |
| Bitcoin | Yes |
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | No |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 |
| Android App | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes |
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes |
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes |
| Economic Calendar | Yes |
Overall Rating
Minimum Deposit
Trust Score
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.1 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.8 |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes |
| Year Founded | 2005 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No |
| Bank | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 |
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes |
| Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDs | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 10000 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 71 |
| Bitcoin | Yes |
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 |
| Android App | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes |
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes |
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes |
| Economic Calendar | Yes |
Overall Rating
Minimum Deposit
Trust Score
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.77 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.87 |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes |
| Year Founded | 2010 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No |
| Bank | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 3 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 |
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes |
| Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDs | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 2342 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 62 |
| Bitcoin | Yes |
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | No |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 15 |
| Android App | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes |
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes |
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes |
| Economic Calendar | Yes |
Overall Rating
Minimum Deposit
Trust Score
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 0.827 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.827 |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes |
| Year Founded | 2014 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No |
| Bank | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 |
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes |
| Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDs | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 26000 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 72 |
| Bitcoin | No |
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | No |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 |
| Android App | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes |
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes |
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes |
Visit Site
Start Trading in 4 Easy Steps
(Between 72-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs)
Overall Rating
Minimum Deposit
Trust Score
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes |
| Year Founded | 2009 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No |
| Bank | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 |
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes |
| Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDs | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 140 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 42 |
| Bitcoin | Yes |
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | No |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 |
| Android App | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes |
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes |
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes |
Overall Rating
Minimum Deposit
Trust Score
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.51 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.27 |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes |
| Year Founded | 2006 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No |
| Bank | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 2 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 |
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes |
| Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDs | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 2249 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 70 |
| Bitcoin | Yes |
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 53 |
| Android App | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes |
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes |
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes |
| Economic Calendar | Yes |
Overall Rating
Minimum Deposit
Trust Score
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes |
| Year Founded | 2010 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No |
| Bank | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 0 |
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes |
| Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDs | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 655 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 60 |
| Bitcoin | Yes |
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No |
| Proprietary Platform | No |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 30 |
| Android App | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes |
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | No |
| Daily Market Commentary | No |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes |
| Economic Calendar | Yes |
Overall Rating
Minimum Deposit
Trust Score
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | No |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes |
| Year Founded | 2005 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No |
| Bank | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 3 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 |
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes |
| Mobile Trading - Forex or CFDs | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1042 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 41 |
| Bitcoin | Yes |
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | No |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 38 |
| Android App | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes |
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | No |
| Daily Market Commentary | No |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes |
| Economic Calendar | Yes |
MT4 Vs cTrader
How do the two platforms compare on some of the key criteria for evaluating a trading platform?
- User Interface: cTrader is known for its smooth, uncluttered, and intuitive interface. Though the popularity of MT4 is certainly unmatchable, when it comes to the user interface and ease of use, the cTrader platform would potentially come out on top. This will, of course, however, depend on the trader. Novice traders are likely to prefer the ease of use that comes with cTrader.
- Support for Auto-Trading Functionalities: MT4 offers Expert Advisors for auto-trading, which are easy to use, customizable and work well for both new traders and experts. cAlgo is cTrader’s equivalent and is programmable in C#. MT4 is still, however, widely considered to have the best in class support functionalities for its auto-trading tools. Also as MT4 has such a vast online community, it’s easier for the user to find support on the internet for this platform, whereas support for cTrader’s auto-trading may be limited.
- Market Depth Functionality: Understanding market depth is important for the trader as it enables them to access liquidity and enter trades at precise price points. cTrader offers three alternatives for market depth assessment which are standard depth, price depth, and VWAP depth. However, MT4 offers only one market depth feature. When it comes to giving the trader a comprehensive picture of market depth, cTrader scores above MT4.
- Flexibility and Customisation: The flexibility for customization of indicators based on the personal preferences of traders is lower in cTrader. This platform does not allow users to customize indicators and programs, however, MT4 has many tools that allow the platform to be fully customized, with or without the need to know the programming language.
Conclusion
Both trading platforms certainly have their own strengths. MT4 is popular for its simplicity, flexibility, inbuilt tools, and Expert Advisors. However, the strength of cTrader lies in its excellent user interface, sophisticated functionalities like market depth, and multiple indicators and timeframes it offers. cTrader is easy to adopt for beginners and a user who has become accustomed to the user-friendly cTrader interface might not be willing to switch platforms at a later date unless they require additional functionality that cTrader is unable to provide. Hence in terms of overall user experience, cTrader provides fierce competition for the market leader, MT4.
Popular Guides
- Best Forex Brokers
- Best CFD Brokers
- Best Copy Trading Forex Brokers
- Best Zero Spread Brokers
- Best MetaTrader Brokers
- Best Brokers for Mac
- Compare the Best Forex Brokers
Methodology
At BrokerNotes.co, our data-driven reviews of online brokers are based on our own extensive testing of each broker's products and services as well as the qualified observations of our expert editorial team. In conjunction with our sister site, ForexBrokers.com, we’ve published well over 100,000 words of research and collected thousands of data points across hundreds of variables. Our in-depth trading guides are created with the same rigorous, data-driven approach.
Our proprietary Trust Score rating system tracks data from over 100 regulatory jurisdictions to help forex traders understand the regulatory status of their forex broker and choose a broker that they can trust.
Our editorial team is led by Steven Hatzakis, an industry veteran with decades of experience and a deep understanding of the forex market. Our team conducts thorough testing on a wide range of brokers, platforms, products, technologies, third-party trading tools, and mobile apps. We also test for the availability of high-quality educational content, actionable market research resources, and the accessibility and capabilities of mobile platforms. All of our ratings and rankings are based on the collection and validation of thousands of data points and our in-depth product testing.
Part of our testing process involves in-depth research into commissions and fees. We dive into each broker’s trading costs, such as VIP rebates, inactivity fees, custody fees, bid/ask spreads (we always strive to determine the average spreads for each broker to better serve our readers), and a variety of other fee-based data points.
All websites and web-based platforms are tested using the latest version of the Google Chrome browser. Our Desktop PCs run Windows 11, and we use MacBook Pro laptops running the latest version of macOS to test trading on the go.
When testing mobile apps or mobile products, we test on both Apple and Android devices. For Apple, we test with the iPhone XS running iOS 16, and for Android we use the Samsung Galaxy S9+ and Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra devices running Android OS 13.
All of the content on BrokerNotes.co is researched, fact-checked, and edited by members of our editorial team. Our ratings and rankings are driven by our independent data collection. We may use generative AI tools to assist in some of the rote aspects of our content production processes, but the substance of our content, as well as our opinions and evaluations are based on our extensive research and product testing. Read our Generative AI policy to learn more.
Our rigorous data validation process provides our readers with quality data they can trust. Click here to learn more about how we test.
Forex Risk Disclaimer
There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading securities. With respect to margin-based foreign exchange trading, off-exchange derivatives, and cryptocurrencies, there is considerable exposure to risk, including but not limited to, leverage, creditworthiness, limited regulatory protection and market volatility that may substantially affect the price, or liquidity of a currency or related instrument. It should not be assumed that the methods, techniques, or indicators presented in these products will be profitable, or that they will not result in losses. Learn more about foreign exchange risk.
About the Editorial Team
BrokerNotes is powered by a dynamic team of writers, researchers, content strategists, data analysts, editors, traders, and investors. We are obsessed with creating the best finance content on the internet, and we are dedicated to helping our readers make great choices for their money.